Rating: 
Summary: disappointing
Review: i had heard great things about this book, but when i actually read it, i was disappointed. the author repeats the same ideas over and over and relies for humor on some incredibly contrived and tedious and repetitive office-space satire. plus, the entire thing feels unreal and unbelievable, even though the subject matter is fairly mundane. i've never read any of this author's other books, but i wasn't impressed with this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Another Excellent Connie Willis Book
Review: This is the second Connie Willis book I've read (the first being "To Say Nothing of the Dog"). Like that other book, this is just amazing. Essentially, the book is a mixture of Dilbert-on-steroids, science, history, history of science, humor, and romance. Also like that other book, this one has an underlying theme of the importance of coincidence in our world. Excellent book. Definitely read it.
Rating: 
Summary: very cute
Review: The novel kept me amused the whole way through - I liked the fad basis. I think Willis went overboard when creating some of the slacker-girl characters, but it all works out.
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable 'light' sc-fi with some minor flaws
Review: I knew I would enjoy this novel after reading the first 3 or 4 pages. The history of science and the stories of scientific discovery scattered throughout the book was something that I felt really added to this story dealing with scientific discovery itself. The first third of the book moves along steadily. The humor gets a little 'same-y' throughout the rest of the book, however, as the same jokes are recycled. The resolution is satisfying even though it's a bit unbelieveable. I mean, haven't typical Hollywood happy endings become a fad? Still, I liked the book overall. This was my first Connie Willis novel but it won't be my last.I have to take issue with couple of things . First of all, how many times do we have to read about people rolling their eyes and sighing? And it seems that not all people roll their eyes but mostly clerks and waiters/waitresses, according to Ms. Willis. And of course the notion that the anti-smoking movement, even taken to extremes, is a fad is completely ludicrous. The notion that anyone who is anti-smoking does not think for themselves is also preposterous. According to Ms. Willis it seems that if there is something everyone is doing then it's a fad and this is just not the case in issues like environmentalism, anti-smoking, human rights, etc. which are fueled by passion. Yes, things taken to an extreme viewpoint are dangerous but Ms. Willis' writing in 'Bellwether' is much too black and white to be credible.
Rating:
Summary: I was hooked from the very first line of this book.
Review: It is so amusing that I would catch myself chuckling aloud as I
read. And as for all the chaos in the book - sounds a lot like
where I work. And the whims perpetrated by Management? Exactly
like what I'm familiar with!
Rating:
Summary: Delightful jaunt amidst the world of research
Review: Will seem hauntingly familiar to anyone who has worked in academia... or government... or industry.
Very funny and refreshing.
Rating:
Summary: Human relationships and other examples of chaos theory
Review: In one regard, a reader never knows quite what to expect from one of Connie Willis's books. She ranges from time-traveling parody of Victorian humorist Jerome K. Jerome to contemplations on the afterlife. What is certain, however, is that the story will be intriguing, the approach to the subject fresh and interesting, the characters memorable, and the writing intelligent. BELLWETHER is no exception. The story of two scientists who combine their respective disciplines -- the study of fads and chaos theory -- is entertaining in its own right, but sly social commentary on a variety of topics adds a satisfying layer. While I enjoy SF, the focus is so intensely placed on the "idea" that I often feel the characters are little more than chess pieces moving through the plot. In BELLWETHER, the characters are every bit as interesting as the puzzles that absorb their attention. In fact, the scientific breakthrough revealed in the title could be regarded as an acknowledgement that, in life as well as art, very often it's character that drives the plot.
Rating:
Summary: This is one funny book
Review: I can't remember when I have laughed so much. If you have ever
worked for a large corporation you will relate to the characters in this book (especially "Management"). The sheep are pretty funny too.
Rating:
Summary: I'm going with the rest of the group - great book!
Review: There's just something about Connie Willis' books...Bellwether is a book about fads, what starts them, and how they impact society. Unlike Willis' two time travel books (Doomsday Book and To Say Nothing of the Dog), Bellwether is set in contemporary Denver, Colorado. Sandy Foster works for a corporation there, where she researches fads. She spends much of the book trying to figure out why women suddenly cut their hair into bobs in the 1920's. Ben O'Reilly also works for HiTech; he researches chaos theory. Naturally, Sandy and Ben start working together, trying to correlate their two fields. Like her other books, every character is fleshed out, and used in the plot, even the ones that seem incidental. And naturally you don't find out how everything fits together until the end of the book. And like To Say Nothing of the Dog, this book made me laugh out loud in public places. It also pokes fun at the scientific community, trendy restaurants, and libraries which refuse to keep classic books. I was a little surprised by the anti-anti-smoking sub-plot, but that's not enough to make me give Bellwether anything less than five stars. Highly enjoyable and re-readable.
Rating:
Summary: A butterfly in text
Review: This book doesn't really shine the first time you read it. I mean, it shines, like all her stuff does. And it lingers in your mind, and replays significant scenes now and then when you're not paying attention. But it doesn't really shine the first time you read it. And not the second, or even the third. It really starts to shine when you start to be able to pick out the triggers, to watch the patterns unfold before your eyes, to see everything they're talking about and looking for happening in their own life--that's when the story goes supernova. I've lost track of how many times I've read this book. I stole my mother's copy, and won't give it back (it's okay, she stole my copy of "After You'd Gone," and gave it away, so we're even.). I don't even need to read it now, I could probably recite it from memory by now, but I still do, still pick it up and roll the words around in my head, play with the phrases. No one writes like Connie Willis.
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